Israeli Ban on Palestinian Entry May be Collective Punishment

She said that the closure would remain in force until midnight Sunday.

“[This] may amount to prohibited collective punishment and will only increase the sense of injustice and frustration felt by Palestinians in this very tense time”, his spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a news briefing.

The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed concern over Israel’s response to Wednesday’s attack. And this it is doing.

The demolition took place in Yatta, which is also the hometown of two Palestinian cousins who killed four Israelis in Tel Aviv on Wednesday in the deadliest attack in a months-long wave of violence. Palestinians want the occupied land for their future state.

Ahmad Mussa Mahmara, the father of one of the attackers, said his son has two uncles serving life sentences in Israel.

Two other victims, Mila Mishayev, 32, of Ashkelon, and Michael Feige, 58, also of Ramat Gan, will be buried Friday afternoon, according to The Times of Israel. The permits were initially issued to Palestinians from the Israeli-occupied West Bank to visit relatives during the holy month of Ramadan, now underway.

The focal point of the Friday prayers are at the flashpoint holy site of Temple Mount in East Jerusalem, home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The dailies reported that France warned about the consequences of escalation following new Israeli restrictions on Palestinians.

“There will be intensive action by the police, the army and other security services, not just to catch every accomplice to this murder but also to prevent further incidents”, he added.

An Israeli intelligence official says it’s now the weapon of choice among Palestinian attackers. Hamas, which is committed to armed struggle against Israel, called the shootings a “heroic operation” and promised the “Zionists” more “surprises” during Ramadan.

The violence has declined in recent weeks, though attacks have continued.

“The presidency has repeatedly emphasized that it stands against attacks on civilians, regardless of their sources or justifications”, a statement said.

In addition they underlined “the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice”.

“Real weapons” are now hard to find and expensive in the West Bank due to raids carried out by Israel as well as those undertaken by forces of the Palestinian government, which rules about a third of the territory.

Palestinians inspect the damage at the apartment of Hussein Abu Ghosh, a Palestinian accused of stabbing a woman to death in January, after it was destroyed by Israeli forces on April 20, 2016, at the Qalandiya refugee camp in the Israeli occupied West Bank.